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Bernard Samson #3
London Match
With treason epidemic in London Central, a cloud of suspicion passes over each senior agent, and each falls helplessly into Moscow Centre's brilliant, complex trap. As LONDON MATCH rushes toward its amazing climax, the ultimate, decisive confrontation is about to take place--between Samson and the British KGB agent who, from the very beginning, has held Samson's entire life in delicate balance.
437 pages, Mass Market Paperback
Published December 12, 1986
254 people are currently reading
1874 people want to read
About the author
Len Deighton
225 books968 followersDeighton was born in Marylebone, London, in 1929. His father was a chauffeur and mechanic, and his mother was a part-time cook. After leaving school, Deighton worked as a railway clerk before performing his National Service, which he spent as a photographer for the Royal Air Force's Special Investigation Branch. After discharge from the RAF, he studied at St Martin's School of Art in London in 1949, and in 1952 won a scholarship to the Royal College of Art, graduating in 1955.
Deighton worked as an airline steward with BOAC. Before he began his writing career he worked as an illustrator in New York and, in 1960, as an art director in a London advertising agency. He is credited with creating the first British cover for Jack Kerouac's On the Road. He has since used his drawing skills to illustrate a number of his own military history books.
Following the success of his first novels, Deighton became The Observer's cookery writer and produced illustrated cookbooks. In September 1967 he wrote an article in the Sunday Times Magazine about Operation Snowdrop - an SAS attack on Benghazi during World War II. The following year David Stirling would be awarded substantial damages in libel from the article.
He also wrote travel guides and became travel editor of Playboy, before becoming a film producer. After producing a film adaption of his 1968 novel Only When I Larf, Deighton and photographer Brian Duffy bought the film rights to Joan Littlewood and Theatre Workshop's stage musical Oh, What a Lovely War! He had his name removed from the credits of the film, however, which was a move that he later described as "stupid and infantile." That was his last involvement with the cinema.
Deighton left England in 1969. He briefly resided in Blackrock, County Louth in Ireland. He did not return to England apart from some personal visits and very few media appearances, his last one since 1985 being a 2006 interview which formed part of a "Len Deighton Night" on BBC Four. He and his wife Ysabele divided their time between homes in Portugal and Guernsey.
Deighton worked as an airline steward with BOAC. Before he began his writing career he worked as an illustrator in New York and, in 1960, as an art director in a London advertising agency. He is credited with creating the first British cover for Jack Kerouac's On the Road. He has since used his drawing skills to illustrate a number of his own military history books.
Following the success of his first novels, Deighton became The Observer's cookery writer and produced illustrated cookbooks. In September 1967 he wrote an article in the Sunday Times Magazine about Operation Snowdrop - an SAS attack on Benghazi during World War II. The following year David Stirling would be awarded substantial damages in libel from the article.
He also wrote travel guides and became travel editor of Playboy, before becoming a film producer. After producing a film adaption of his 1968 novel Only When I Larf, Deighton and photographer Brian Duffy bought the film rights to Joan Littlewood and Theatre Workshop's stage musical Oh, What a Lovely War! He had his name removed from the credits of the film, however, which was a move that he later described as "stupid and infantile." That was his last involvement with the cinema.
Deighton left England in 1969. He briefly resided in Blackrock, County Louth in Ireland. He did not return to England apart from some personal visits and very few media appearances, his last one since 1985 being a 2006 interview which formed part of a "Len Deighton Night" on BBC Four. He and his wife Ysabele divided their time between homes in Portugal and Guernsey.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 224 reviews
May 21, 2017
Description: With treason epidemic in London Central, a cloud of suspicion passes over each senior agent, and each falls helplessly into Moscow Centre's brilliant, complex trap. As LONDON MATCH rushes toward its amazing climax, the ultimate, decisive confrontation is about to take place--between Samson and the British KGB agent who, from the very beginning, has held Samson's entire life in delicate balance.
Opening: 'Cheer up, Werner. It will soon be Christmas,' I said
I shook the bottle, dividing the last drips of whisky between the two white plastic cups that were balanced on the car radio.
4* Winter
4* Berlin Game
4* Mexico Set
CR London Match
3* Ipcress File
3* SS-GB
3* XPD
Opening: 'Cheer up, Werner. It will soon be Christmas,' I said
I shook the bottle, dividing the last drips of whisky between the two white plastic cups that were balanced on the car radio.
4* Winter
4* Berlin Game
4* Mexico Set
CR London Match
3* Ipcress File
3* SS-GB
3* XPD
November 25, 2013
The final book in the Game Set & Match trilogy, in which Bernard Samson helps capture a KGB courier using information from former KGB major Erich Stinnes – whom Samson convinced to defect in the previous book. But the courier’s confession implies that there is another KGB mole in London Central – which is bad news for Samson, whose loyalty has been questioned since his wife turned out to be a KGB mole herself. Now he must find out who the mole is – or if the courier is lying. Deighton delivers a very good spy yarn that makes the most of the chief problem of the espionage business: never knowing for sure just who is on whose side, and who is telling the truth. London Match gets a bit too bogged down by the domestic lives of the characters – everyone seems to be having affairs with someone else and expecting Bernard to deal with it – and it gets a little tedious for the likes of me. But the twists and turns of the espionage angle more than make up for it.
December 3, 2019
Based on the first three books in the Bernard Samson series, these books just get better and better
Berlin Game (1983) set the scene; Mexico Set (1984) takes the series to the next level; and London Match (1985) moves it up yet another notch.
London Match is another engrossing installment of the cat and mouse shenanigans which typify the best Cold War era spy novels. A winning mix of bureaucracy, domesticity, ambition, and deadly moves and counter moves. London Match is a taut and clever book. Each chapter progresses the narrative and reveals more about a wonderfully complex cast of characters and their respective strengths and foibles.
The city of Berlin is at the heart of this novel. Len Deighton evokes the atmosphere of a divided and claustrophobic city at the centre of the Cold War.
As I closed in on the gripping finale of this book, I went onto onto eBay and (for a bargain £7.60) bought the next four in the nine book series...
Spy Hook (Bernard Samson, #4)
Spy Line (Bernard Samson, #5)
Spy Sinker (Bernard Samson, #6)
Faith (Bernard Samson, #7)
All hail Bernard Samson, a truly believable intelligence offer (just like the nameless operative in the Len Deighton's "Harry Palmer" books).
5/5
Berlin Game (1983) set the scene; Mexico Set (1984) takes the series to the next level; and London Match (1985) moves it up yet another notch.
London Match is another engrossing installment of the cat and mouse shenanigans which typify the best Cold War era spy novels. A winning mix of bureaucracy, domesticity, ambition, and deadly moves and counter moves. London Match is a taut and clever book. Each chapter progresses the narrative and reveals more about a wonderfully complex cast of characters and their respective strengths and foibles.
The city of Berlin is at the heart of this novel. Len Deighton evokes the atmosphere of a divided and claustrophobic city at the centre of the Cold War.
As I closed in on the gripping finale of this book, I went onto onto eBay and (for a bargain £7.60) bought the next four in the nine book series...
Spy Hook (Bernard Samson, #4)
Spy Line (Bernard Samson, #5)
Spy Sinker (Bernard Samson, #6)
Faith (Bernard Samson, #7)
All hail Bernard Samson, a truly believable intelligence offer (just like the nameless operative in the Len Deighton's "Harry Palmer" books).
5/5
November 21, 2022
Lots of chickens come home to roost in this third volume of the first trilogy in the nine-volume Bernard Sanders espionage series. Bernie is still working for MI6 and dealing with those who give him the side-eye over his wife Fiona's defection to Soviet intelligence. Bernie suspects there may be another mole at MI6, but nobody wants to hear it.
Bernie's personal life is further complicated by the philandering of his sister-in-law with his married boss, by his new, young, girlfriend Gloria, and by threats from his father-in-law and Fiona to take his two children away from him.
Taking place between London and Berlin, this does have some crackling action scenes, but it's mostly focused on the internal machinations of MI6 and the chess match between the West and East intelligence services. I can't believe I waited years to read this series and now I just want to plow through all nine books as soon as possible. My only issue is that Bernie can make sweeping sexist observations about women. His attitudes aren't out of place with the time the books were written, but that doesn't make it grate much less.
Bernie's personal life is further complicated by the philandering of his sister-in-law with his married boss, by his new, young, girlfriend Gloria, and by threats from his father-in-law and Fiona to take his two children away from him.
Taking place between London and Berlin, this does have some crackling action scenes, but it's mostly focused on the internal machinations of MI6 and the chess match between the West and East intelligence services. I can't believe I waited years to read this series and now I just want to plow through all nine books as soon as possible. My only issue is that Bernie can make sweeping sexist observations about women. His attitudes aren't out of place with the time the books were written, but that doesn't make it grate much less.
January 14, 2018
I love this series. I like the characters, the setting during the Cold War between London and Berlin is always exciting and believable.
May 13, 2019
Deighton's 3rd in the Game/Set/Match trilogy is a great example of the cat and mouse nature of really good spy novels in the cold war era. In this series wrap-up, Stinnes, the KGB big shooter enticed by Samson's British spy masters to defect, is sporadically providing intelligence to his interrogators. Samson's wife, who had defected in the other direction and is now running an important KGB desk, remains suspiciously quiet. And then, the debriefing of a low level Russian agent who'd been picked up leads the Brits, at least some of them, to believe a second mole (in addition to Samson's wife) was operating at the highest levels of the British intelligence community. The action, such as it is, flashes back and forth between London and the 2 Berlins as Samson and his trusted 'sidekick' Werner attempt to figure out if there's indeed a mole and who it might be. As they get further into their work, Stinnes' status as an all-star recruit to the good guys' team becomes suspect as well.
Deighton's writing is fine- it seems a little dated (published in 1985) and the dialogue is a bit stilted at times, but otherwise it's a top flight story with an intricate plot. I've enjoyed getting to know Samson and the other characters- he's certainly no James Bond or Jason Bourne, but he gets the job done with a 'blue collar' approach.
If you pay attention and follow the story closely, you'll be rewarded with a novel that keeps everyone guessing and theorizing until the end.
Deighton's writing is fine- it seems a little dated (published in 1985) and the dialogue is a bit stilted at times, but otherwise it's a top flight story with an intricate plot. I've enjoyed getting to know Samson and the other characters- he's certainly no James Bond or Jason Bourne, but he gets the job done with a 'blue collar' approach.
If you pay attention and follow the story closely, you'll be rewarded with a novel that keeps everyone guessing and theorizing until the end.
January 3, 2022
Very enjoyable spy shenanigans.
August 21, 2017
Poor Bernard Samson! Probably the most experienced spy for Britain's MI6, he is under natural suspicion because his wife became a turncoat and joined the KGB. She has been quite busy, allowing a KGB asset, Major Erich Stinnes, to "defect," actually tossing a spanner into the works of London Central by casting doubt on one of the MI6 department heads.
Samson shows himself a pillar of strength and manages to foil his wife Fiona's sophisticated smears, even though he expects to get little credit for it:
Samson shows himself a pillar of strength and manages to foil his wife Fiona's sophisticated smears, even though he expects to get little credit for it:
Don't be disappointed, Bernard. This is a disaster averted, a Dunkirk for the Department. There are decorations galore and ennoblements and promotions for victories like Trafalgar and Waterloo, but there are no rewrds for Dunkirks, no matter how brave or clever the survivors might be. London Central don't give gold medals to staff who prove they are wrong, and prove it with senior staff from [MI]Five looking on. They don't give promotions after finales like the last act of Hamlet with blood and gore on every side and the unexpected death of a KGB official, even if he wasn't given a safe conduct.So far, London Match is the best of Len Deighton's Bernard Samson novels SO FAR (when read in sequence).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 9, 2017
More office politics that turn deadly. The petty nature of the situation just makes everything more ironic and darkly funny. I enjoyed it, although there were sections of dialog where the characters are debating back and forth that may have been skimmed...
April 10, 2014
More than a mere spy novel. Highly recommended for fans of the genre.
May 30, 2025
This book is the third book in a series about Bernard Samson, a spy who’s trying to save his reputation after someone close to him defects to Russia.
In this book Samson is trying to extract information from someone who’s defected to the UK. A lot of what he (the defector) knows is time sensitive, so Samson needs to get it out of him quickly, which is something that is proving to be a bit of a challenge (the defector isn’t feeling helpful, cooped up somewhere).
The book is a decent read. There are enough twists and turns to keep people engaged. It might be a little predictable for readers nowadays, but it’s still engaging.
One thing I will say is that ITV (the UK’s independent broadcaster) brought it to television. I’m surprised. Not because it’s not televisual, but because the ending is darker than I’d expect for television.
In this book Samson is trying to extract information from someone who’s defected to the UK. A lot of what he (the defector) knows is time sensitive, so Samson needs to get it out of him quickly, which is something that is proving to be a bit of a challenge (the defector isn’t feeling helpful, cooped up somewhere).
The book is a decent read. There are enough twists and turns to keep people engaged. It might be a little predictable for readers nowadays, but it’s still engaging.
One thing I will say is that ITV (the UK’s independent broadcaster) brought it to television. I’m surprised. Not because it’s not televisual, but because the ending is darker than I’d expect for television.
October 1, 2018
Len Deighton's Bernard Samson series is getting better with each installment. London Match, the third in the nine-book spy saga, feels like what I imagine Deighton intended it to feel like: the end of the beginning. There are a ton of unanswered questions, and the ones that are answered form new wrinkles. Meanwhile, the stakes intensify and the spy vs. spy war between London and Moscow gets more brutal than the simple game Samson believed they were all playing.
Acting on intel gleaned from the Erich Stinnes, Samson and his best friend Werner Volkman capture a pair of communist spies in Berlin. One of them indicates that the traitor discovered at the end of Berlin Game may not have been acting alone, propelling Samson on a journey to find yet another mole in British Intelligence, all the while navigating office politics and trying to keep what's left of his family together.
Spoilers...
London Match doesn't have an ounce of fat on it. Every single chapter moves the story forward, fleshing out the characters along the way. Samson finally begins to see the chinks in his own armor; he makes mistakes throughout the book, and others pay for them. When the possibility of another Russian spy presents itself, he suspects Bret Renesslar and moves forward with Bret's treason a foregone conclusion. But does he really think Bret is working for the other side or does he want to believe it because he suspects Bret of sleeping with his wife? If the latter, is he doing the same thing his superiors have been doing, assigning guilt by association? The other possibility, which turns out to be true, is that Stinnes, the prized asset that exonerated him of complicity in Fiona's betrayal, may be a Trojan Horse, going undercover as a defector to wreak havoc among the British. To be fair, Samson had these fears in Mexico Set and everyone told him he was crazy, and now that his suspicion has been proven right he's anticipating receiving all the blame. That doesn't help Bret much, though.
Speaking of whom, Bret Renesslar is demystified considerably in London Match. The seemingly all-powerful spymaster is suddenly vulnerable, suspected of selling out the country he truly loves and, ultimately, on the run, (effectively) begging Samson for help. Dicky Cruyer, while not having as big a part this time (which makes sense; as the danger -- both physical and professional -- increases, Dicky tends to disappear), is humanized just a bit, depending on whether or not you believe his declarations of love for Tessa. Tessa herself could be in love with Dicky too (insert joke about Tessa's exramarital promiscuity here), though both choose to suffer in silence rather than leave their spouses. But what's really going on here? Do they really love each other? Samson seems to believe Tessa loves Dicky while she is just another daliance to him, but each says the opposite is true. Or neither one could really love the other and both just want sympathy (Tessa's "Oh, no, I really do love my husband" vs. Dicky's "Look how much I'm giving up for my family"). I imagine this will play out more as the enealogy goes on -- I doubt either of them is done cheating, and they sleep around so much they're bound to find their way into the same bed again eventually. Bret, on the other hand, might have run out of luck.
Then there's Fiona. She's absent for most of the book, but gets word to Samson through Tessa that she wants to see her children. When she shows up in the last few chapters, she seems to honestly want to have her kids in her life again. Once again, though, what can we believe? Her duplicity would seem to know no bounds; she orchestrated the entire plot of these three novels ("Game, Set and Match," as Werner puts it), and she attempted to kidnap the kids in Berlin Game. And earlier in this book (in an absolutely horrifying scene), KGB heavy Pavel Moskvin kidnaps Bernard and theatens to go after the children if he doesn't leave for America. However, Fiona's longing feels genuine, and she arranges for Movskin to be killed. What she's really up to grows more mysterious with each passing book.
The real tragedy with Fiona is how she can still compromise Bernard. After everything she's done to him, he still longs to be a family again. If she were to come back, he would likely forgive her for everything. It's frustrating because you want Bernard to tell her all the things she richly deserves to hear, but he can't because he still loves her. I can certainly relate, and my heart breaks for him. Also, could she really get custody of the kids? She committed treason! How can she even show up to court? Does she just get to write a letter and have her kids shipped off to the USSR? And British Intelligence are so afraid of publicity they would make it happen? I understand sometimes the greater good has to win out, but at a certain point what are you even fighting for anymore?
The spy action definitely kicks up a few notches in London Match. There are a couple of shootouts, a sting operation to nab a couple of enemy agents, an attempted break-in (and resulting explosion), a kidnapping, interrogations, tails, and more. The pace has been very deliberate to this point, and having it suddenly go off the rails indicates how dire the Cold War has gotten for these characters. I'm interested in seeing if this continues throughout the rest of the series.
London Match is a great spy novel and the best of the Bernard Samson series so far. Three in and I'm not stopping now.
Acting on intel gleaned from the Erich Stinnes, Samson and his best friend Werner Volkman capture a pair of communist spies in Berlin. One of them indicates that the traitor discovered at the end of Berlin Game may not have been acting alone, propelling Samson on a journey to find yet another mole in British Intelligence, all the while navigating office politics and trying to keep what's left of his family together.
Spoilers...
London Match doesn't have an ounce of fat on it. Every single chapter moves the story forward, fleshing out the characters along the way. Samson finally begins to see the chinks in his own armor; he makes mistakes throughout the book, and others pay for them. When the possibility of another Russian spy presents itself, he suspects Bret Renesslar and moves forward with Bret's treason a foregone conclusion. But does he really think Bret is working for the other side or does he want to believe it because he suspects Bret of sleeping with his wife? If the latter, is he doing the same thing his superiors have been doing, assigning guilt by association? The other possibility, which turns out to be true, is that Stinnes, the prized asset that exonerated him of complicity in Fiona's betrayal, may be a Trojan Horse, going undercover as a defector to wreak havoc among the British. To be fair, Samson had these fears in Mexico Set and everyone told him he was crazy, and now that his suspicion has been proven right he's anticipating receiving all the blame. That doesn't help Bret much, though.
Speaking of whom, Bret Renesslar is demystified considerably in London Match. The seemingly all-powerful spymaster is suddenly vulnerable, suspected of selling out the country he truly loves and, ultimately, on the run, (effectively) begging Samson for help. Dicky Cruyer, while not having as big a part this time (which makes sense; as the danger -- both physical and professional -- increases, Dicky tends to disappear), is humanized just a bit, depending on whether or not you believe his declarations of love for Tessa. Tessa herself could be in love with Dicky too (insert joke about Tessa's exramarital promiscuity here), though both choose to suffer in silence rather than leave their spouses. But what's really going on here? Do they really love each other? Samson seems to believe Tessa loves Dicky while she is just another daliance to him, but each says the opposite is true. Or neither one could really love the other and both just want sympathy (Tessa's "Oh, no, I really do love my husband" vs. Dicky's "Look how much I'm giving up for my family"). I imagine this will play out more as the enealogy goes on -- I doubt either of them is done cheating, and they sleep around so much they're bound to find their way into the same bed again eventually. Bret, on the other hand, might have run out of luck.
Then there's Fiona. She's absent for most of the book, but gets word to Samson through Tessa that she wants to see her children. When she shows up in the last few chapters, she seems to honestly want to have her kids in her life again. Once again, though, what can we believe? Her duplicity would seem to know no bounds; she orchestrated the entire plot of these three novels ("Game, Set and Match," as Werner puts it), and she attempted to kidnap the kids in Berlin Game. And earlier in this book (in an absolutely horrifying scene), KGB heavy Pavel Moskvin kidnaps Bernard and theatens to go after the children if he doesn't leave for America. However, Fiona's longing feels genuine, and she arranges for Movskin to be killed. What she's really up to grows more mysterious with each passing book.
The real tragedy with Fiona is how she can still compromise Bernard. After everything she's done to him, he still longs to be a family again. If she were to come back, he would likely forgive her for everything. It's frustrating because you want Bernard to tell her all the things she richly deserves to hear, but he can't because he still loves her. I can certainly relate, and my heart breaks for him. Also, could she really get custody of the kids? She committed treason! How can she even show up to court? Does she just get to write a letter and have her kids shipped off to the USSR? And British Intelligence are so afraid of publicity they would make it happen? I understand sometimes the greater good has to win out, but at a certain point what are you even fighting for anymore?
The spy action definitely kicks up a few notches in London Match. There are a couple of shootouts, a sting operation to nab a couple of enemy agents, an attempted break-in (and resulting explosion), a kidnapping, interrogations, tails, and more. The pace has been very deliberate to this point, and having it suddenly go off the rails indicates how dire the Cold War has gotten for these characters. I'm interested in seeing if this continues throughout the rest of the series.
London Match is a great spy novel and the best of the Bernard Samson series so far. Three in and I'm not stopping now.
July 16, 2025
With stinnes in custody, his information leads to disaster after disaster and it starts to look like there’s another double agent.
What a great trilogy this was, with lots of subterfuge and who’s betraying who cat and mouse stuff. It’s not action packed, although there are a few shootings, but it’s never dull. More like a look at the bureaucracy of spying than Bond, it’s a solid read.
What a great trilogy this was, with lots of subterfuge and who’s betraying who cat and mouse stuff. It’s not action packed, although there are a few shootings, but it’s never dull. More like a look at the bureaucracy of spying than Bond, it’s a solid read.
July 29, 2019
The third book in the Game, Set, Match trilogy kept me poised on the edge of my bed with the paperback bent over my knee. It was fast, deceitful, and full of energy. There were a fair few typos, but nothing that gets in the way of the story, which is riveting right through.
October 5, 2025
Impressive at every level, and quite funny to boot. Consider me a Deighton man.
October 26, 2024
First of the Bernard Samson trilogies dispatched and a enjoyable set of books.
From defections to crosses and double crosses this first set of books was pretty good.
Complex in some ways and yet not impossible to follow..lots of digression from the main plot give a well rounded set of characters and all in all a decent robust tale.
I think you could pick up these books out of order and not get to lost the narrative thread is revised in all books really but I think it is best to read them in order.
Anyhow off to the next in trilogy with hook.
From defections to crosses and double crosses this first set of books was pretty good.
Complex in some ways and yet not impossible to follow..lots of digression from the main plot give a well rounded set of characters and all in all a decent robust tale.
I think you could pick up these books out of order and not get to lost the narrative thread is revised in all books really but I think it is best to read them in order.
Anyhow off to the next in trilogy with hook.
September 2, 2020
The third and third best of this excellent trilogy but only because it doesn’t move with the relentless pace of the Game and Set books. I find it very reassuring that Len Deighton writes his Cold War thrillers so clearly that you know exactly what is going on and have as much knowledge as Bernard Sampson, the first person narrator who is admittedly confused for long periods. This contrasts favourably with Le Carre’s stories which seem determined to be cloaked in fog and innuendo and render me inadequate no matter how closely I study the text. Sampson’s accurate interpretation of the other characters’ mannerisms and motivation is consistently amusing and perspicacious.
*They sent for coffee for four and Bret got to his feet and poured out all four cups so that Cruyer’s coffee and Morgan’s coffee were getting cold. It seemed a childish revenge, but perhaps it was the only one Bret could think of. While I drank my coffee Bret looked out of his window and then looked at things on his desk and tidied it up. He was a restless man who, despite an injured knee, liked to duck and weave and swing like a punch-drunk boxer. He came round and sat on the edge of the desk to drink his coffee: it was a contrived pose of executive informality, the kind that chairmen of big companies adopt when they’re being photographed for Forbes magazine.*
Also I am impressed with his evocation and love of Berlin, I really hope Sampson gets the job as head of that station eventually. Again I am amazed that anyone gets any work done at all, the amount of champagne and whisky that sloshes around their bodies at all times of the day.
*They sent for coffee for four and Bret got to his feet and poured out all four cups so that Cruyer’s coffee and Morgan’s coffee were getting cold. It seemed a childish revenge, but perhaps it was the only one Bret could think of. While I drank my coffee Bret looked out of his window and then looked at things on his desk and tidied it up. He was a restless man who, despite an injured knee, liked to duck and weave and swing like a punch-drunk boxer. He came round and sat on the edge of the desk to drink his coffee: it was a contrived pose of executive informality, the kind that chairmen of big companies adopt when they’re being photographed for Forbes magazine.*
Also I am impressed with his evocation and love of Berlin, I really hope Sampson gets the job as head of that station eventually. Again I am amazed that anyone gets any work done at all, the amount of champagne and whisky that sloshes around their bodies at all times of the day.
June 27, 2013
Bought along with a number of others in the series in the cheap section of a local charity shop. I had read the original trilogy when it first came out and thought it ok but not special. It is certainly not in the same class as Le Carre.
I have problems with the KGB and MI5 allowing suspect agents or recently returned spies free reign and no oversight. I am sure there would be extensive periods of garden leave and debriefing and not going straight into the field. And would a British KGB agent be able to slip in and out of the UK within months of their defection? If you can believe that then the book may be better, but I struggled with it. And they seem to be running the KGB when you just know that they would be held in a safe house for months until they had given all the information they knew and be judged as to whether they could be trusted. Can you imagine the KGB letting such an agent back into the UK, trusting that they would return?
I have problems with the KGB and MI5 allowing suspect agents or recently returned spies free reign and no oversight. I am sure there would be extensive periods of garden leave and debriefing and not going straight into the field. And would a British KGB agent be able to slip in and out of the UK within months of their defection? If you can believe that then the book may be better, but I struggled with it. And they seem to be running the KGB when you just know that they would be held in a safe house for months until they had given all the information they knew and be judged as to whether they could be trusted. Can you imagine the KGB letting such an agent back into the UK, trusting that they would return?
June 25, 2016
London Match dragged for the middle half. Deighton committed to the trilogy (and already had another six books outlined), and I think he ran out of plot or had a serious case of le Carre envy with over-the-top character expositions. I like Bernard Samson, Werner and Deighton's coverage of Berlin. As I worked to the end of Game, Set and Match in under a year, I was increasingly bored with his girlfriend Gloria, sister-in-law Tessa, and Samson's three closest workmates, Dicky, Frank and Brett.
The last thirty pages of London Match really move along yet even there I couldn't quite understand why the principal bad guy chose to run as he did. I suspect Len had that ending in the bag early, and needed to bridge the book's OK beginning with a ripping end. But that turgid center makes me wonder what might have been with a parallel plot thread (or maybe novella treatment).
The last thirty pages of London Match really move along yet even there I couldn't quite understand why the principal bad guy chose to run as he did. I suspect Len had that ending in the bag early, and needed to bridge the book's OK beginning with a ripping end. But that turgid center makes me wonder what might have been with a parallel plot thread (or maybe novella treatment).
October 5, 2019
Bernard Samson, medium-high-grade espionage executive and occasional field agent, has two problems with his superiors. Ever since his wife, an even higher ranking executive, defected to work for the KGB (as a colonel, no less), he's been viewed as suspect, even when cleared. Since he is the son of a former head of Berlin Station, grew up in Berlin, speaks excellent German, and has a lot of contacts in Germany, they resent his field experience, having little themselves.His second problem is that his superiors are idiots who excel at playing office political games rather than espionage management. Given that Samson is involved in turning one of his wife's important subordinates, all is complicated, also by his father-in-law's attempt to gain custody of Samson's children. All of this comes to a very satisfying head.
April 7, 2024
2.5 stars, rounding down. This should have been more enjoyable than it was... the dialogue is well-written, the characters have defined personalities. The problem is that the plot has a kind of middle management problem: it's spies creating work for other spies, with no outside input. What state secrets are they attempting to steal? Do they do anything other than spy on other spies and try to figure out whether the defectors are for real or are double agents? It just got very circular and tedious after a while. There were a couple of action scenes where things got momentarily exciting, and I was surprised at my own reaction here, because some writers' action scenes tend to bore or annoy me. I guess it comes down to how things are written. I will give this series a shot as a book, rather than as an audiobook, to see if perhaps it's a medium issue.
July 2, 2024
Having enrolled the KGB major Stinnes, Bernard Samson is still under suspicion for his wif'e defection. Suspicion mounts as evidence gleaned from Stinnes points to there being another source high up in SIS.
However, bit by bit, suspicion mounts on another of the senior staff, Bret Rensaeller. He doesn't help himself by suddenly deciding to be part of field operations, for which he has no experience. The operations go badly and the evidence builds.
At the same time, the office politics grow nastier as senior managers jostle for office space. And the Director General appears to be suffering from the onset of alzheimers.
Samson negotiates his way through the maze with a mixture of guile, luck and brute force. It doesn't help that the planner behind the KGB's operation is his ex-wife and she knows just which buttons to press to manipluate Bernard.
Brilliant.
However, bit by bit, suspicion mounts on another of the senior staff, Bret Rensaeller. He doesn't help himself by suddenly deciding to be part of field operations, for which he has no experience. The operations go badly and the evidence builds.
At the same time, the office politics grow nastier as senior managers jostle for office space. And the Director General appears to be suffering from the onset of alzheimers.
Samson negotiates his way through the maze with a mixture of guile, luck and brute force. It doesn't help that the planner behind the KGB's operation is his ex-wife and she knows just which buttons to press to manipluate Bernard.
Brilliant.
May 29, 2024
More of a corporate intrigue than a spy novel, especially when you factor in the obsession with the protagonists' marital lives. Speaking of which, the frequent infidelities and relationships between forty year-old men and twenty year-old women tell us more about Deighton than his characters.
Pretty decent read, but I wish Cold War spy fiction would show what's at stake beyond "Moscow Centre has infiltrated London Central" and vice versa. This is true even of the best stuff by John le Carré. James Bond is not a sophisticated franchise, but at least its villains have clear ambitions and the consequences of failure to thwart them are understood.
Pretty decent read, but I wish Cold War spy fiction would show what's at stake beyond "Moscow Centre has infiltrated London Central" and vice versa. This is true even of the best stuff by John le Carré. James Bond is not a sophisticated franchise, but at least its villains have clear ambitions and the consequences of failure to thwart them are understood.
January 26, 2016
The last volume of Deighton's "Game, Set, Match" trilogy falls short of the quality of the previous books, but not too far. Bernard Samson is still dealing with the emotional and professional fallout from his wife Fiona's defection to the Soviets, and with his growing suspicions about the KGB defector Erich Stinnes. The intermingling of national and romantic infidelity provides a thoughtful subtext here. Not a mile-a-minute thriller, but an emotionally resonant and compelling one, a fitting conclusion to the trilogy.
May 23, 2015
For anyone who thinks Len Deighton was not as good a writer as John LeCarre; please realize you are mistaken in underestimating him. This series of three books more than shows he can stand alongside his more well-known rival. Reading this work will demonstrate that to you fully. The two authors simply work in different styles, as one might expect of two separate talents. Deighton never needed to imitate LeCarre to produce works of equal stature in this genre. And by the way, Deighton's non-espionage fiction is where he also shines.
October 25, 2021
Awesome, awesome series. Berlin Game, Mexico Set, London Match. One of the best cold war books (series) I ever read. Unlike many other spy novelists, Len Deighton's books' plots are followable. I came across London Match in a convenience store and had to buy it. Finished it in two days and immediately went to the store to buy Berlin Game and Mexico Set. Read those and then re-read London Match again.
October 3, 2011
3rd in the trilogy but not quite the best of the three. Several twists and turns I didn't work out in advance, which is the test of a mystery/thriller novel and I really enjoyed some of the passages which expose the buffoonery of civil service life. I think Leighton pulls his punches when dealing with Fiona - she's either entirely cold-hearted and scheming or she's not. Don't keep trying to give her a soft centre!
March 9, 2017
This is one part of a trilogy. Berlin Game, Mexico Set, London Match. I've carried one of these on nearly every flight I've taken long haul. Excellent reads all three. Highly recommend them. The lead character stands out, and his relationship with his counterpart, a want-to-be-spy is carried right through the trilogy. You have to wait until the very end to see how it all works out sorry.
If you like Cold War British Spy Thrillers, you are going to have to love this set.
If you like Cold War British Spy Thrillers, you are going to have to love this set.
October 21, 2017
Perfect end to the trilogy. Bernie is settling into the new normal, a new girlfriend and his strange combination of domesticity and danger. He is still under suspicion and coping with the devious Eric Stinnes and his venal father in law. These books are so well drawn that you are easily immersed in an alternate literary world and you want to stay. Again, this book ends with a bang (or series of them) and Bernie courts disaster. Well worth your time.
May 26, 2018
I have recently re-discovered Len Deighton and I have become enthralled with his writing. I have been reading the entire Samson series and am thoroughly enjoying the series. If you check out my other reviews of the books in the series you'll see the same comments.
In all of my reading I most enjoy plots that are reasonably realistic and have good strong characters. Deighton supplies all of these.
In all of my reading I most enjoy plots that are reasonably realistic and have good strong characters. Deighton supplies all of these.
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